Yankees place Domingo German, five others on outright waivers: report
The Yankees, and their fans, will always have Domingo German’s perfect game in 2023 but the right-hander’s tenure in pinstripes is likely over.
Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports that the Yankees have placed German and five other players on outright waivers. The other names include: Franchy Cordero, Billy McKinney, Matt Bowman, Jimmy Cordero and Ryan Weber.
All six players were arbitration eligible and can be claimed by other teams or elect free agency.
While all six contributed to the Yankees this season in different ways, German’s name is the biggest in this list of outrighted players because of his tenure and what he’s done with the organization.
German was projected to be a backend-of-the-rotation pitcher in 2023, but the injuries to Carlos Rodon and eventually Nestor Cortes forced the Yankees to lean on German more and more this season.
The 31-year-old got off to a solid start and peaked in late June when he pitched a perfect game against the Oakland A’s.
However, German was placed on the restricted list after a drunken clubhouse outburst in August and didn’t pitch the rest of the season.
German finished his season with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Over his six seasons in the Bronx, German pitched to a 31-28 record with a 4.41 ERA.
Cordero pitched to a 3.86 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP before he was suspended in early July for violating the MLB domestic violence policy. Weber was also a candidate to be outrighted after he suffered a forearm strain in June that cut his season short. In eight appearances in 2023, Weber pitched to a 3.14 ERA and a .298 average against.
And then we have McKinney, who provided some great moments this summer when the injury bug really plagued the Yankees' outfield. But with the return of Aaron Judge and the promotion of Jasson Dominguez and Everson Pereira, McKinney saw his playing time cut.
McKinney slashed .227/.320/.406 with six home runs and 14 RBI in 48 games this past season.
Cordero’s 2023 will be remembered by the first few weeks of the season. Who could forget the 29-year-old hitting four home runs in the first seven games he played in? Unfortunately, that tear would not last as Cordero would be demoted and recalled a few times over the course of the year.
Cordero’s final numbers saw him slash .188/.211/.689 with six home runs and 13 RBI in 24 games played.
Bowman played the least number of games of the players outrighted Thursday with just three appearances. In that time, the right-hander struck out three batters over four innings but gave up four earned runs.
